The NSCN-IM is no longer the force it used to be. Once the 'de facto government' of Magaland, it gradually reduced to an extortion racket. But missteps by the Centre could give it a new lease of life.
The counter-insurgency operation on the Indo-Myanmar was under planning for the last three months. The June 4 ambush that killed 18 Indian soldiers only hastened the attack. Sheela Bhatt provides exclusive details of the planning for the operation.
China has long coveted Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Southern Tibet. But, as Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan explains, in 1947, the present state of Arunachal Pradesh constituted the North East Frontier Tract of Assam. When India adopted its Constitution on 26 January 1950, NEFT became 'a separate politico-administrative entity' although it was constitutionally still a part of Assam. Its administration was brought directly under the President of India with the Governor of Assam acting as his agent. A revealing excerpt from his book The Origin Story of India's States.
Rijiju said the central government will rehabilitate all Indian citizens in the Naga group if they abjure violence.
Rediff.com gives you a lowdown on the NSCN-K.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
Security forces in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh have mounted vigil in areas where the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang) led by Burmese-origin Naga S S Khaplang has strong influence.
After the Naga leader's death, Chinese intelligence may ensure ULFA terrorist Paresh Barua takes over as leader of the anti-India rebel groups operating out of Myanmar, says Nitin A Gokhale.
By writing a scathing letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on the breakdown in law and order in the state, is Governor R N Ravi creating the ground for consolidating his power and directly influence proceedings in the state, asks Sandeep Pandey.
The decision has been taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
High-pitched identity politics, which is the norm in the northeast, has continued to compound the boundary problem.
The prime minister told the MPs that the northeast is very close to his heart and his love for the region is very natural. Quoting Modi, Rijiju saidthe PM asserted that he doesn't look at the region from the prism of politics.
Following the week-long standoff between the Nagas and the Manipur government over Thuingaleng Muivah's visit to his native village, the Congress core committee decided not to allow the separatist leader to enter the state. After prolonged deliberations, the party top-brass on Wednesday felt that the visit of the country's top rebel leader from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM might worsen the law and order situation in Manipur.
Five more lives have been lost in the on-going bloody conflict between the Naga rebel group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) and the Kuki Liberation Army based in Manipur.
Nine young men killed in police firing last August have become symbols of oppression of the tribals of Manipur.
'We shouldn't allow it to become a rallying point for others in the region against the army.'
AFSPA can be safely lifted from almost 90 per cent of Nagaland, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-K leader S S Khaplang, whose outfit carried out the June 4 attack on the Army in Manipur, is believed to be ill and convalescing in a Yangon hospital.
Insurgent groups like ULFA and NSCN-K have been using Myanmar as safe sanctuary and have set up bases there, despite that country's repeated assurances not to allow its territory for activities inimical to India, Government said on Tuesday.
The newly-formed common forum of Northeast insurgent groups based in Myanmar has posed a renewed threat to security and peace in the troubled region.
'According to top government sources, the territorial boundaries of the existing North-Eastern states will not be disturbed although cultural integration of Nagas living in states other than Nagaland will be facilitated through special measures,' reveals Nitin A Gokhale.
Lakme Fashion Week's Winter/Festive instalment opened with a showing by seven GenNext designers who managed an even mix of creativity and chic couture. Take a look.
A journalist was killed in police firing on the second day of the indefinite strike in Manipur called by a film body demanding the arrest of a Naga militant for allegedly molesting a film actress.
Appealing to the United Naga Council to call off its 74-day economic blockade on two national highways in Manipur, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said all issues could be sorted out through dialogue.
Assembly elections to five crucial states will take place in a few months and the results will be decisive for the BJP, which is eyeing a third successive term at the Centre, in the forthcoming the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Following a Manipuri delegation's appeal Anna Hazare may involve himself in finding a solution to the state's problems, reports A Ganesh Nadar from Pune
'Manipur is a peripheral state. Had it been in Haryana or somewhere, it would have been cleared in two days. The Centre was too insensitive.' Pradip Phanjoubam, editor, Imphal Free Press, on the Manipur blockade.
Union Home Secretary G K Pillai on Wednesday discussed the situation in Nagaland with Governor Nikhil Kumar and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio in the wake of Manipur government opposing National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah leader T Muivah's visit to his village.
The North East is a sizeable success story for the Modi government politically and for the BJP electorally. It will be an unpleasant surprise if they choose to blow it, bowing to their basic, polarising instinct at any point, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Assam Rifles has thwarted an attempt by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isak-Muivah rebels who are in truce with Government of India forces, to set up a designated camp near the Siroy village in Ukhrul district of Manipur, even as the stand off between the Naga rebels and the Assam Rifles personnel continued in the area.
'Earlier, a lot of fear was in the minds of people that the BJP is anti-Christian and anti-minority, but over the years people have learnt to accept that the BJP is just another national party.'
The area was a theatre of violence for several years since Naga-Kuki ethnic clash broke out in 1993 and the civilian Kuki tribe population suffered severely in that war zone.
Officials said the EC has directed them to provide security to Sharmila as 'she travels alone almost all the time'.
Buoyed by the formation of governments in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is making a bid to expand its footprints in the region.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
Let us end tensions that have sometimes existed between us and live as good neighbours, who respect each other's rights, the outfit said in a statement.
With incidents like the Gateway murder and the rape of a minor inside a police chowki in Marine Drive, is Mumbai still the safest city?
